South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham stepped up his criticism of fellow GOP Sen. Rand Paul on Thursday, charging that on foreign policy, the Kentuckian is "a step behind leading from behind" and would be "one of the worst people" to succeed President Barack Obama.

Paul fired back as he continued his announcement tour in Graham's home state, charging that Graham has supported censorship in America and would detain U.S. citizens without an attorney.

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In separate interviews with WMUR.com, Graham elaborated on his recent charge that Paul has a world view "to the left of Barack Obama." Paul responded that Graham has shown through some of his positions he lacks the wherewithal to be president.

"At the end of day," Graham told WMUR.com, "what I'm looking for in terms of a president is someone our allies would respect and our enemies would fear that could get a better deal."

Paul, he said, is not that candidate.

Graham said Paul was the only senator in September 2012 to vote against a Graham-authored resolution saying the U.S. would not allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon. Paul said a vote for Graham's resolution "is a vote for the concept of pre-emptive war."

"Rand Paul was the only one who felt uncomfortable accepting the proposition that you can't contain a nuclear-armed Iran," Graham said. "I think he'd be one of the worst people to take Barack Obama's seat."

He said Paul has called for the elimination of all aid for Israel and has an isolationist view of the world. When Obama allowed U.S. forces to use a drone to kill Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen, in 2011, "he was within his rights as commander-in-chief," Graham said.

But Paul was critical because the attack was not sanctioned by a judge or Congress.

"I like Rand Paul," said Graham. "I will support him if he wins the nomination. I have worked with him on entitlement reform. He gets the big stuff on the economy. He's a fine fellow.

"But his world view is to the left of Barack Obama," Graham said. "His way of looking at how to protect this nation, to me, is a step behind leading from behind.

"How can I criticize President Obama and let somebody in my own party get a pass?" Graham continued. "He wanted to leave Iraq without any troops. He refused to do a no-fly zone when the entire national security team and President Obama said you need a no-fly zone to protect the Free Syrian Army."

Paul, in a brief telephone interview from South Carolina, fired back.

"When you get criticism, you have to consider the source," he said. "This is a person who has indicated that we need to have censorship in America. He's fine with detaining American citizens without a lawyer. That's fine with him."

Paul was referring to a provision of a defense funding authorization bill in 2012 that allows indefinite detention of U.S. citizens involved in terrorism. Graham said on the Senate floor during the debate, referring to American citizens who aid terrorists, "Tell them, 'Shut up, you don't get a lawyer. You're an enemy combatant, and we're going to talk to you about why you joined al-Qaida.'"

Two years ago, Graham noted that mail to and from overseas was censored during World War II, saying that given the threat of terrorism, "If I thought censoring the mail was necessary, I would suggest it, but I don't think it is."

Paul charged that with such views, Graham has shown he does not have the wherewithal to be president.

"He's confused on this," said Paul.

He dismissed Graham as someone who is trying to develop "a national following to see if he wants to run for president."

Also on Thursday, Graham said that to deal with the nation's unfunded liabilities, he would dust off the 2010 bipartisan Simpson-Bowles report -- officially, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform -- and get the Senate and House leaders in a room to hammer out an agreement that cuts spending and also raises revenue by eliminating deductions and closing tax loopholes.

"I'm not going to spend any more time in Washington ignoring the obvious," which, he said, is "80 million baby boomers about to retire. And the good news is, you can fix this."

Graham said his mantra is bipartisan fixes to hard problems such as immigration and entitlement reform.

"Deductions and tax credits in the tax code are about $1 trillion a year," Graham said. "We're going to have to clean up the tax code and take some of that money to lower rates to create job growth. But some of that money has to go to debt retirement. If you don't do that, you're not going to get a Democrat to means-test benefits or raise the age of retirement."

How will that play in a Republican primary?

"That's the big question," he said. "Talking about practical solutions in a primary -- does that make sense? It does to me. I'm a conservative, but a Republican or Democratic Party is not much good for the country if they can't fix the big things.

"I think that will play really well in New Hampshire," he continued. "The people of New Hampshire are incredibly practical, and what I offer is a practical solution, a practical way forward."

Paul said on Wednesday in New Hampshire that there is "big news coming" on the Clinton Foundation and Hillary Clinton, saying, "There are things that went on at the Clinton Foundation that are going to shock people and make people question whether or not she's going to run for president."

When asked about it Thursday, Graham said, "I have absolutely no idea what he's talking about."

Earlier this week, Graham's friend and Senate ally, 2012 GOP presidential nominee U.S. Sen. John McCain, was asked by a radio host in Arizona if Graham is going to run for president.

"He is," McCain said.

McCain then backtracked a bit, saying he was 90 percent sure Graham would run.

Graham's take was: "I'm far more likely to run than not, but I have to get the finances together to be competitive. I'm not going to raise the most money, but I have to raise enough. If I get a finance team in place, then I think it's far more likely than not I'll run."